Pro-democracy activists on trial in UAE refuse to appear in court

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Five pro-democracy activists on trial in the United Arab Emirates for insulting the Royal Family and threatening national security refused to appear in court yesterday, claiming that they would not receive a fair hearing.

In a letter posted online, Nasser bin Ghaith, an economics lecturer and one of the accused, said that he and his co-defendants had decided to boycott the hearing.

Mr Ghaith, who lectures at a branch of the Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, was arrested in April with Ahmed Mansoor, a blogger, and Hassan Ali Khamis, Fahid Salim Dalk, and Ahmed Abdul Khaleq.